


View from Above

by Rckyfrk



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, bethyl as told by hershel, reposting of an old story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-10 00:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rckyfrk/pseuds/Rckyfrk
Summary: A Bethyl fanfic, told through the eyes of Hershel after his final moments on earth. Originally posted December 2014.





	View from Above

I felt nothing. Absolutely weightless. The pain, the fear, the heartbreak at hearing my girls’ screams, the deafening gunfire – it was all gone. The only thing I felt was peace.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I’m not sure how I got here, wherever here was. It all looked familiar, yet completely new to me at the same time. A lone figure was walking toward me, quickly, but not rushed.

“Welcome home, Hershel.” I heard a kind sounding voice address me.

“Is this...” I started to ask, but the words wouldn’t leave my lips.

The figure simply nodded and held its arms out to the sides. “It is. Your eternal reward.”

I nodded back. I knew I hadn’t survived, I just...didn’t expect this. “What do I do now?”

“Whatever you wish.” I could hear the smile in the voice.

I looked down at my feet. The ground seemed to fade beneath them. I could see tiny movements below the soles of my feet. Then all of a sudden everything was transported and I was there with my family again, hovering over them. I looked up and the figure was still beside me. “Is this...is that them? That’s really happening?”

The being nodded again. “You may watch from up here, but you can’t go back. You raised your family well, taught them and cared for them. There’s no reason for you to go back. Once you’re here, there’s no becoming a ghost among the living.”

A thought crossed my mind. “What about Annette? Josephine? Are they here too?”

“Yes. They know you’re here. I imagine they’ll be along soon to welcome you, too.”

I nodded and sighed, relieved that I wasn’t exactly alone. “Thank you.” I turned, but the figure had already left. I directed my focus back down to what was happening on earth. It was total chaos. My family, both blood and adopted, were scattering, trying to protect themselves, protect their home. I could feel how scared they were, how angry, and wanted so badly to be with them. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. Startled, I looked over and saw Annette smiling at me. Words failed me as she wrapped her arms around me.

“Hello, Hershel,” she said softly. “Oh, it’s good to hold you again.”

I laughed against her hair as I hugged her back. It felt wrong to cry in a place like this. I pulled back from her and the sound of an explosion echoed from below us.

“Things look pretty bad down there, don’t they?” she observed.

Of course she’d be watching our Bethy from up here; I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. I nodded in agreement. “I wish I could help them. They look so lost, so scared.”

“We can’t directly interfere. The only ones allowed to actually visit are the angels, and that’s only in very severe cases. They all have to figure it out on their own. Goes with the free will and all that,” Annette explained.

I grimaced at the news, but knew she was right. I felt another hand on my shoulder. I turned to look and found Josephine. “Jo...” I whispered.

She laughed and pulled me into an embrace. “About time you got here.”

I suddenly felt very awkward between the two women, my first and second wives. “Jo, I...”

She pressed her fingers against my lips. “It’s alright, Hershel. I didn’t want you to be alone when I died. You needed help with Maggie.” She looked over at Annette, who was still smiling. “I hated seeing the both of you together but so alone. I sent her to you. I knew you both needed each other.”

“You sent...Annette? How?” I asked, surprised at this revelation. I looked at Annette, “You said we couldn’t interfere.”

Annette shrugged, “We can’t...at least we can’t go back to change the course of events.” Her lips curled into a grin. “Did you ever hear that tiny voice in your head telling you to go right instead of left? To order chicken instead of steak? Diet instead of regular soda?” I nodded, still confused. “That was us, Jo and I, still watching over you, helping to guide your decisions.”

I frowned and kept looking between the two of them. Jo tried explaining, “We can’t go down and take someone and force their hand, but we can point them in the right direction and hope they go that way. A somewhat less-than-divine intervention.”

I looked at the scene below me again, letting this new information sink in. “How?” I asked, and looked at the two loves of my life. “How do you do it?”

Annette spoke first, her face full of compassion. “It’s not easy...takes lots of practice. It’s like praying. You focus your thoughts on the ones you love and talk to them as if you were there with them.”

“We can’t do it all the time, just when they need a little nudge in the right direction,” Jo continued. “Remember, free will. If you try to make them do something they wouldn’t do on their own, it won’t work.”

I nodded and looked down again. I searched until I saw my daughters, Beth and Maggie, scrambling to find each other. They were near the bus that was supposed to get everyone out of the prison in case of an emergency...like the situation they were all in now. I watched as Maggie handed her gun to Beth, telling her, “We’ve all got jobs to do,” and took off, running to find Glenn. It hurt to see my little Bethy standing alone outside the bus, a gun half the size of her in her arms, fighting not to cry. I wanted to tell Maggie to get back to her sister, but knew how important finding Glenn was. He was sick, and was about to be left behind. Beth looked around at the scene exploding around her and ran back toward the prison, heading for the library, where all the kids were supposed to be hiding.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Maggie found Glenn and brought him back to the bus, and my heart twisted when she realized Beth wasn’t there anymore. I was so proud of her when she directed Glenn to stay in the safety of the bus as she looked for her sister. She ran to the small garden area where Sasha and Bob were near the picnic tables, immediately asking if they had seen Beth. Neither of them had. I watched as Bob got shot in the shoulder, thankful it wasn’t a fatal wound. My heart sank along with theirs as the bus pulled away right before their eyes. They took off, still dodging bullets piercing the air around them. I prayed a silent “Thank you,” to whoever was keeping my family safe.

Another loud explosion caught my attention; I saw the tank now on fire, the driver fleeing the burning vehicle, only to stare down the business end of Daryl’s crossbow. I was so proud of that young man; who else but Daryl could put down a tank single-handedly? He finished off the tank driver and stood silently over him.

A new fear gripped me as I saw Beth stumble out of the prison, all alone, lost and clearly without any plan. She hadn’t found any of the children, and she was more concerned about where they might be than her own safety. I watched as realization dawned on her, that the bus was gone, seemingly no one left. She ran blindly into the courtyard, where the burning tank was sitting.

I knew my Bethy was strong, stronger than she knew, but on her own out in this world, she wouldn’t make it. She needed someone to help her realize her strength. I had hoped Maggie would be there to pick up where I had left off, but she was gone already. The nearest person was...Daryl.

I knew there was no one else in this group that had become my family that would be able to take care of my baby girl, who could prepare her for the hardships of this world. He would keep her fed, keep her safe. I knew he was still rough around the edges, and it would be hard on my Beth, but I needed her to survive. She was too good to let this world kill her. My mind was made up.

I did as Annette had said, focused my thoughts on Daryl, trying to get through to him. “Just wait...just wait... please, just wait...” I repeated over and over, and to my surprise, he never moved, only looked ahead at the exit leading into the woods - his safe haven.

Beth came tearing around the corner, almost running into Daryl as he stood stock still. “I was trying to find the kids to get them on the bus,” she explained, and her words seemed to snap him out of his trance.

He glanced around the courtyard, at the ruins of their prison home, then back at her. “We gotta go, Beth. We gotta go,” was all he said and he took off running, Beth close behind.

I almost wept in relief. She’d be safe. He’d keep her that way. Maggie was strong, she could handle herself out there, and she had Sasha and Bob and was on her way to find her husband, and I’d keep my eye on her to make sure she stayed that way. I knew Jo and Annette would be watching, too, that our girls would never be out of our sight.

I watched as Beth pushed on to keep up with Daryl, running through trees and fields, beyond the point of exhaustion for both of them. I watched as they both collapsed, side by side, gasping to catch their breath, and I prayed that they’d stay safe while they took this much needed rest. They travelled on, ending up at the edge of the woods, where Daryl built a small fire for the two of them. I beamed with pride when Beth declared that they couldn’t be the only survivors. Her faith in everyone else making it out alive was so strong; she was so adamant. I saw that Daryl didn’t believe a word of it, but his demeanor didn’t stop her from pushing on. When he showed no signs of getting up and she left without him, I grew anxious. It was bad enough thinking about her being by herself, only her small knife for a weapon, in broad daylight, but at night? In the woods?

I focused my thoughts again and begged Daryl to stay with her. Eventually he sighed heavily, put out the fire and trudged after her. I was surprised how easily he had heard me, but was glad for it.

They stumbled through the darkness, Daryl never letting Beth too far out of his sight. They marched on through the night, neither of them able to sleep anyway. Daryl followed what few tracks he could find as best he could in the dim moonlight. As morning broke over the horizon, they picked up speed and eventually came across a place where a group from the prison had clearly been, four or five hours ago according to Daryl.

I smiled down as I heard my daughter announce, so determined, so adamantly, “It wouldn’t kill you to have a little faith.”

“Yeah, faith. Faith ain’t done shit for us. Sure as hell ain’t do nothing for your father.”

‘Oh, Daryl.’ I shook my head. ‘If you only knew.’

“Why would he say that?” I heard from beside me. I glanced up and found Annette was by my side. I’d been so consumed with watching my youngest that I’d forgotten these two women were still here with me, watching our daughters.

“Well, he had faith that they could all stay at the prison. That certainly didn’t pan out.” Ah, my Jo, always the snarky one. I was instantly reminded just where Maggie got her sense of humor.

“I understand that,” Annette responded, never taking her eyes off the scene below us. “Why bring up Hershel? Seems kind of a calloused to say something like that, doesn’t it?”

I chuckled. “That’s just Daryl being Daryl. Not always the best in social situations,” I explained. Still, his comment made me wonder just what was going on in his head. Why he had to throw that in her face. I returned to observing the pair.

Beth had started to pick berries for when she found any other survivors. My heart swelled with pride – my Bethy, ever the eternal optimist. Her tiny hands were quickly filling with the fruit. She needed something to help hold her small harvest. I had just started thinking, focusing on Daryl, when he offered her his bandana. It seemed I was very adept at communicating with the man, and wondered if it was me in tune with him or if he was more open-hearted than I gave him credit for.

I was lost in thought as they continued on their trek and came upon the remnants of those they had been tracking. Poor, sensitive Beth broke down crying, her fragile sense of hope wounded. I wanted to hold her, to tell her not to give up, to keep the faith, and tried to channel all of that through Daryl. I was all but screaming in my mind to him, begging him to show some compassion, but her ignored my concentrated plea and walked on.

I looked to my side and saw Annette sitting in quiet concentration. I marveled at the determination on her face, in awe when I saw Beth respond to her focused effort. Gradually our daughter calmed herself, stopped the flow of tears and followed after Daryl.

“Amazing,” I breathed and she looked up at me, her eyes curious as to what I was talking about. “She really heard you, really responded. What did you say to her?”

Annette just smiled serenely, her eyes looking tired, “Just told her to have faith. Be calm. Carry on. They tend to respond better if you keep it simple.”

I looked to my other side to see Jo kneeling, her eyes squeezed shut. I peered down and saw Maggie working with Bob and Sasha clearing out a bus now full of walkers. It was clear that for her to make contact with our daughter was taking a lot out of Josephine. ‘That’s odd. Why did I have an easier time getting Daryl to hear me? Maybe it’s because we were only just recently separated from each other,’ I thought guiltily. Jo must have to work harder because she had been gone longer. To my surprise, Maggie suddenly stood stock still, leaving the other two to fend for themselves. “Why did you stop her? The others could have gotten hurt.”

Jo kept her eyes closed as she replied, “They were fine. She was getting reckless, about to get herself hurt.”

The next thing I knew, night had fallen, leaving Beth and Daryl surrounded by darkness in the middle of a forest, and a large group of walkers wasn’t far behind them. The two came to a road running through the woods. They were scavenging through an abandoned car they had found when the walkers caught up with them. I watched as they scrambled into the trunk. As they sat together, I prayed for their safety throughout the night.

Morning came after a night filled with terror, both from the walkers snarling to get to their prey inside the car and from the lightning storm raging around them. Beth crawled out of the trunk first, and they started looking again for items they could use. When Daryl silently began walking down the road, Beth followed dutifully after him.

The day wore on; Beth set up camp as Daryl hunted for a meal for the two of them. As they ate, Beth started talking about looking for a drink, and went on to search alone for her first alcoholic drink.

“Absolutely not,” I bellowed. “She knows better. She’s too young.” I focused my efforts on getting Daryl to move, to stop my daughter, to talk some sense into her, but the archer just sat and continued eating, letting her walk off into the woods alone. I hoped for a moment that Beth would lose her nerve at going off on her own, but knowing my daughter, that was highly unlikely. I was mentally screaming at Daryl to get up, but the man wouldn’t move. “Why won’t he do anything” I asked, my voice frantic with panic; I could see that Beth was stubbornly marching directly toward a small group of walkers. “Why won’t either of them listen? Daryl heard me earlier, I’m just sure he did.”

Annette and Josephine both grinned at me. Annette spoke first. “Hershel, you’re still new at this. Maybe the other times were just...luck.”

“Besides,” Jo interjected, “what’s so bad about getting a drink? If I was Beth, I’d be doing the same thing. She’s a young woman on a mission; she’s been through a lot, and she’s a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders.” She placed a calming hand on my shoulder, “Have a little faith in her.”

When I had calmed down a little, I saw that Daryl had, in fact, started after Beth. ‘So he did hear me, although apparently, food is more important than my daughter’s safety,’ I seethed. The pair was headed to an overrun country club. I felt, rather than saw, both Annette and Jo moving next to me.

“Come on, dear,” Jo said softly. “Take a break. You’ve been watching for hours.”

I stayed in place, refusing to move. “What if they get in trouble? What if there’s something I can do to help?”

Annette pulled me along with her. “Daryl’s a good man. Beth’s a smart girl. They’ll take care of each other. Really, Hershel,” she said with a tsk of her tongue, “have some faith.”

I reluctantly followed the two women I loved so much. While it was beyond wonderful to be with them again, to reminisce about old times, to hear their laughs again, my mind couldn’t focus on their conversation for very long. My mind kept wandering back to what was going on below, if my girls were still safe. I swore I heard shouting from below me and found I just couldn’t fight it any longer; I had to know what was going on.

Beth and Daryl were in the middle of a heated argument, though I wasn’t entirely sure what it was about. I was certainly proud of my youngest for standing up to the older man, for holding her own. Daryl turned his back on her, talking about how he should have tried harder to find the Governor. He was blaming himself for the attack on the prison that had scattered our family to the wind. “Oh, son, it’s not your fault. None of it. You did all you could,” I spoke softly, not sure if he’d actually hear me. My heart was full of pride for this man, for all he had done for our family.

“And your dad...” Daryl began before his voice broke and tears began to fall. Beth wrapped her slender arms around him and they stood together in silence.

I looked up and saw Jo and Annette grinning again. “What?” I asked, genuinely confused. “What are you smiling at?”

The women only stood and smiled. Jo turned to Annette, “You saw it, too, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I think I did.”

“Saw what?” I demanded, but the women refused to answer.

“Don’t worry,” Annette told me, “You’ll see it soon enough, I suspect.”

I was still very much confused, but chose to believe what they were saying and returned to watching below to try to figure out what I’d missed. Beth and Daryl were sitting on the porch now, drinking out of mason jars. “That’s not water, is it?” I asked Jo, my voice full of doubt; I already knew my answer based on their more relaxed conversation now. There must have been some kind of still at the rundown shack and together they had raided the stash of white lightning.

I listened in, my heart starting to break when Beth described the future she had been hoping for. I heard her suggest they burn the shack down and instantly tried to get through to them to keep them from following through. Where would they go in the middle of the night, both of them drunk, wandering through the woods?

A whispered voice stopped me. “Let them be, Hershel.” I looked up at both women staring fondly at me. “They need this. They don’t need us right now. Let them be.” As much as it pained me, I knew they were right. I had to have faith in my girl and her safe keeper. I turned and followed Annette and Jo into our eternal celebration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The thing about eternity is there really is no concept of time. From where I was standing, it seemed only a matter of hours had passed, but the next time I looked down, it was clear that weeks, if not months, had passed in the land of the living. I found Beth and Daryl, both of them still looking healthy and whole and even...happy. What had happened in my absence?

Was that Beth holding Daryl’s crossbow? Something had clearly shifted in their relationship for him to trust her with his most prized possession. And Beth was leading Daryl? Apparently he had been training her, and training her well. That certainly explained things. It would have taken lots of trust on both parts to come to this point, but spending all this time together, depending on each other, would surely garner a strong connection between the two of them.

I watched, concerned, as Beth went down, her foot caught in some kind of trap. I was impressed that she still managed to come close to hitting her target; my sweet little girl had turned into quite the huntress. I trusted Daryl to keep protecting her, and he didn’t disappoint for a moment. They carried on, Beth hobbling behind him now, until Daryl stopped in his tracks and stooped low, offering a “serious piggyback.” I took a breath to protest – they were getting far too close for my comfort – but was stopped by Annette’s hand on my shoulder.

She smiled warmly at me, then raised her eyebrows. “You’re starting to see it, aren’t you?”

I snapped my mouth shut and stared at her wildly. “I see an older man who’s got his hands on my little girl,” I ground out.

“Hershel,” Annette said, her voice instantly soothing, “Look at them.” They had found an old funeral home, and Beth was standing before a grave stone. Daryl picked some withering wildflowers and laid them atop the marker. I gasped as Beth reached for his hand, their fingers intertwining. “Do you see it?” Annette asked again. “They care for each other very much. They are what each other needs.”

“But...but it’s Daryl. He’s too hard for our little Bethy.”

“She’s not so soft as you’d like to think, dear. That’s a good thing,” she quickly added. “In that world, she has to be strong, and Daryl has helped her come into her own. And look at him.”

I directed my attention on them again. Beth was asking him if he thought something was beautiful, but he remained silent. There was something in his eyes, like he was trying to communicate with her silently, but instead just offered to wrap her injured ankle.

“See? He cares very much about her. And based on that look he gave her...” Annette trailed off and gave me a wink. “Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off them. She was all smiles around him, and his demeanor had changed drastically. He seemed to find all manner of reasons to touch her, always innocently enough; the touches were harmless, never intending to lead to anything, but were meaningful all the same. It reminded me of when I was courting Jo and Annette. My eyes grew wider at the realization, something like shock settling into my system.

Day became night and my heart soared as Beth began playing the piano and singing. It had been such a long time since my ears had heard the beautiful music she created. My view shifted to Daryl standing in the doorway to the viewing parlor. He seemed as mesmerized by her as I was. I found myself less and less upset that he was looking at my daughter this way. It was clearly evident that he cared a great deal for her; knowing Daryl, he would only have the most honorable of intentions and would never take advantage of or force himself on her. I’d actually be surprised if he made any move on her at all.

He crossed into the room after a long moment of listening to her, muttering something about having locked up the house then hopped into the empty casket lying open near the piano. He suggested she keep on singing.

“I thought my singing annoyed you,” Beth cocked a wary eyebrow at him.

So did I, come to think of it.

“Well, there ain’t no juke box, so...” he trailed off and watched as Beth grinned and turned back to the piano and picked up singing her song. This time, my eyes never left Daryl, and his never left her until he stared up at the ceiling and dropped his hand to his forehead.

“My God,” I whispered in half-disbelief, “He loves her.” I looked to Annette and Josephine. “How? When?”

“Does it matter?” Jo asked.

I decided she had a point, and that it didn’t really matter. “Does she...?”

Annette shrugged, “I’ve got my suspicions, but it’s very easy to love her, and even easier for her to love.”

“But she’s so young,” I protested.

“So what?” asked Josephine. “We were both pretty young when we met. And you and Annette had several years between the two of you.”

I was still trying to wrap my brain around the whole thing. It was morning down below when I finally looked back. Beth was hobbling her way toward the kitchen where Daryl had already set out breakfast for the two of them. He had made some comment about her moving faster. I heard her tell him she was going as fast as she could, but apparently it wasn’t fast enough. He scooped her into his arms without warning and carried her the rest of the way to the kitchen table, which was all of ten feet or so. Both women next to me tittered excitedly. I couldn’t hide my smile once I saw Beth’s grin and heard her infectious laughter, saw her arms linked around his neck. I shook my head and took a double take.

Daryl was smiling. He looked so proud and...genuinely happy.

And Beth had made him that way. They made each other happier than I’d ever seen either of them.

“I just...I can’t believe it,” I murmured. “Who would have thought my little doodlebug would fall in love with a man like Daryl?” Jo and Annette shared a knowing look, but chose to keep their thoughts silent. “What?” I inquired, but was only answered with both of them shrugging and playing innocent. I found myself laughing along with them.

Beth and Daryl were still seated at the small kitchen table the next time I looked down, but now Daryl had sat himself right next to her instead of across from her. It was night time now and the kitchen was glowing with the light of several tea light candles spread out around the room. Beth was busy writing a thank you letter to whomever owned the house, but Daryl stopped her.

“Maybe you don’t need to leave that. Maybe we stick around here for a while. They come back, we’ll just make it work. They may be nuts, but maybe it’ll be alright.”

Beth grinned smugly and asked him what made him realize that there were still good people left in the world. After he shrugged away her question, Beth pressed on. Daryl’s only answer was simply to stare at her, as if he was willing her to hear his thoughts. She responded with a soft, “Oh.” I could feel the tension, not necessarily unwelcomed by either of them, all the way from my viewpoint.

A sound came from the front porch, and Daryl got up to see what had caused it. I realized too late that he’d left his crossbow at the table. I frantically tried to call down to him, to warn him of the dangers on the other side of the door, but to no avail. Over a dozen walkers were pushing on the door to get at him. He fought to keep them at bay, calling to Beth, who brought his weapon and tossed it to him. He instructed her to get out of the house to meet him by the road, that he would meet her there. She yelled back that she wouldn’t leave him, but he insisted and led the walkers down into the basement.

I looked at Annette and Jo imploringly, begging them to help me help them. “It’s no use, Hershel,” Annette said softly. “Sometimes there’s just too much going on at once for them to hear us. We just have to trust that they’ll make it on their own. They’re both strong. They’ll make it.” She gave me a look and I could hear her thoughts loud and clear: have faith.

Beth made it to the road fine, just as Daryl was starting to make his way back up the stairs. A black car came out of nowhere, and a man dressed as a policeman jumped out and grabbed for her. She fought, and fought hard. Jo, Annette and I were all outraged. Not this, not now; not when they were both safe and happy and together. Had these men set the house as a trap?

The policeman fighting with Beth reached for the bag slung over her shoulder. They both pulled, straining the strap until it broke, scattering the items inside onto the pavement. Beth fell to the ground, breaking her fall with her right hand, her wrist bending at an awkward angle, clearly broken now. I wanted nothing more than to go down and comfort her, but knew Daryl was on his way and would be able to protect her. The cop grabbed her and was pulling her toward the back seat of the car. I was proud to see she never once stopped fighting. I watched, helplessly, as the cop hit her across the cheek, knocking her out cold. I howled with rage, unheard save for the two women who stood by me, silently weeping.

“The fuck you doin’?” I heard a gruff southern drawl come out of nowhere. Daryl was standing just off the road, his crossbow loaded and aimed directly at the cop. The uniformed man froze in place, leaving Beth to lie on the ground.

“Look, just stand back. We’ve got this under control,” he said, one hand outstretched, trying to keep Daryl at a distance, the other hand on the butt of his gun.

“The hell you do. You knocked my girl the fuck out. You got about two seconds to tell me why,” he growled, all the while stepping closer.

The driver of the car stepped out, his hands in the air. “I can explain. We’re from Atlanta, Grady Hospital. Out looking for survivors. We were driving along the road and saw her walking along, obviously favoring her right ankle. We saw all the rotters around and figured we’d stop to help. Officer Gorman here tried to get her to come into the car, but she resisted, started panicking.”

“You stopped to help by hitting her? Look at her arm. Did you break her damn arm?” Daryl’s voice growing louder and angrier with each syllable. “How the fuck you gonna make this right?” he asked heatedly, aiming directly at Gorman’s head now.

Gorman pulled his pistol out of his holster and Daryl let the arrow he had loaded fly. Gorman’s arms went slack; he fell to his knees, and collapsed on the ground next to Beth.

Daryl stomped up to the car, yanking the arrow out of the dead man’s skull. “Here’s what we’re gonna do.” He stooped to pick up the discarded pistol and tucked it under his belt. He made his way around the car to stand toe to toe with the driver. “You’re gonna take us to this hospital, get my girl here all fixed up, and once she’s healed, you’re gonna drive us back out here so we can keep looking for the rest of our family.” He was now face to face with the other man, who was clearly quivering in fear. “Ain’tcha?” The driver nodded vigorously.

Daryl walked back to where Beth was still lying unconscious, keeping one eye on the driver the whole time. He carefully picked her up and gently placed her on the car seat, closed the door, and walked back around to sit behind the driver. “Let’s move,” he commanded, and the driver obeyed.

The three of us stood in shock. I knew Daryl could be a hard ass, but this type of behavior left me absolutely flabbergasted. Beth regained consciousness along the way and Daryl had explained to her what was happening. Then something remarkable happened – Beth curled into his side, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and hugged him, muttering a thank you. Daryl stiffened, but eventually relaxed against her and even brought his arm to rest around her shoulders, his eyes constantly on alert for any sign of foul play.

I inhaled sharply at the contact, still not accustomed to seeing such a closeness between the two, but the looks Annette and Jo gave me had me rethinking and realizing that my Bethy could do far worse than a man like Daryl Dixon. We watched as they approached the hospital and the driver escorted them inside. He brought them to meet the woman in charge, a small but fierce woman named Dawn Lerner. She told Daryl they would help Beth, but because her officers had effectively rescued them from a herd of rotters and now they’d be giving Beth medical treatment, they would owe the people at Grady.

“Like hell,” Daryl spat back at her. “Wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your boy...the hell was his name...Gorman. Nah. You owe us. I’ll let you off the hook if you get her back to health and we’ll get the hell out of here.”

“And what about payment for while you’re staying here? It’ll be at least a couple weeks until her wrist is completely healed. That’s quite a drain on our resources. You would still owe us,” she insisted.

Daryl chewed his lip, weighing his options. “Aight. I go hunting, every damn day, bring you back what I can. Fair enough?”

Apparently the idea of fresh meat on a daily basis appealed to the rest of the staff privy to the conversation; they all looked expectantly at Dawn, who finally acquiesced. “Fair enough. My medical team heals her, you provide food, and the minute the cast is off, you’re gone.”

Daryl didn’t say another word to her, only fixed her with an icy glare. A doctor, or at least a man dressed in a white lab coat, came forward to usher them into an exam room to treat Beth’s cut cheek and fractured wrist, Daryl never leaving her side for a moment.

I chuckled to myself. “Ladies. I think our girl is going to be just fine.”

**Author's Note:**

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